The Forgotten Birthday
by ImNotHumanNoComment
Summary: It's July 12th! Annabeth's birthday is finally here! But knowing her family, they'll still treat her as a shadow. They always do. Read and see how Annabeth copes and makes this day a bearable one. One-shot.


**A/N: Due to my crazy obsession with Percy Jackson, I thought I'd write a Fanfic about Annabeth's sixth birthday, and how nobody in her family actually remembers that she's turning six. And yes, July 12 is her actual birthday, it's mentioned in The House of Hades. **

**Anyway, we'll just get started. :D**

**Disclaimer: Annabeth and her family all belong to Rick Riordian, Max Linhoff is a product of my imagination.**

* * *

The day was here. July 12th. If Annabeth had been born into any other family, she would've been overjoyed. Excited. Glad. Gleeful. Any other family but this one, and today wouldn't feel like such a burden. All she had to do was survive it, and it wouldn't come back for another year.

Like fighting a monster. But she couldn't help but wish she was part of a normal family- instead of a ghost haunting one.

As luck would have it, she was, most assuredly, in this family, though half the time it seemed like she was invisible.

That was bad enough, but when they acknowledged her... that was even worse.

She didn't know what to make of herself. Was she invisible? A misfit? Possibly both?

* * *

Of course, she was the first one up. There was no point in cherishing sleep, for all she dreamed of were spiders.

And she didn't want to face her stepmother like this. No doubt she'd just get chided because her hair was a mess.

As she walked down the hall, she looked into the nursery, seeing her twin half-brothers snore contentedly. _Why did she have to come and ruin my life? Why did you have to be born? _She thought bitterly to herself.

She knew it was stupid to despise two innocent babies. She knew it was idiotic of her to even _begin _to think that they were the source of her problems. But she couldn't get over their reactions when the Drakon had attacked last week.

She couldn't get over the look on their faces as it lashed at her. No, she just couldn't.

Subconsciously, she had prepared herself bread toast with honey. Not her favorite, but she had to make do with her skill set, which was sadly only that of a seven-year-old's.

* * *

_Rat-a-tap-tap! Rat-a-tap-tap!_

As she quietly munched her breakfast in the tiled kitchen, she looked up as she heard the ominous taps. At first she thought it was Molly, their doberman.

Annabeth rushed over, opening it only to find her neighbor, Max, in the bushes. "Max! What are you doing here?"

Max brushed himself off and looked in. "Just wishing my neighbor a happy birthday. Happy sixth birthday!"

"Shh!" Annabeth hissed. "My dad might wake up! They're _all _asleep upstairs!"

"Sorry," Max said apologetically. The nine-year-old dusted the grass and soil off his khaki shorts. "I guess that scratches out coming in..?

"Yeah, but I wish you could come." Replied Annabeth. "You're the only person who ever really _talks _to me."

"Really?" Max seemed surprised. "You seem likable, so I thought you were one of the popular kids in your grade," he said.

"I'm nowhere near that..." muttered Annabeth. "I never have and I never will be."

"What? Did I say something wrong?" asked Max.

Just then, Mrs. Linhoff peered around the side of the house. "Max! Bess is going to drive you to GameStop! Get yourself ready to go!"

* * *

He was gone. Just like that. She knew she couldn't blame him, but she couldn't help feeling a bitter taste in her mouth. _At least he remembered, _she chided herself. _Be grateful at least _he _did_.

She didn't have to be grateful he was gone, though.

* * *

Of course, the rest of her family woke up, eventually. They didn't seem to notice Annabeth at all. In fact, the only one who seemed to pay her any attention was Molly. Of course, they were both alone. Dr. Chase had gotten her Molly before he was married... her stepmother hardly knew he existed.

To them, it was just another day. _Ignore the misfit girl and coo over our adorable sons_, that's probably what her stepmother and father thought.

At least, that was all they did.

Quite frankly, the two _things _in the nursery were overrated. Obviously, she kept silent. Annabeth wasn't fond of getting her hide whipped.

* * *

The rest of the day passed quite uneventfully.

Of course, Dr. Chase was in his study most of the day, only coming up at his wife's request to coo over the boys.

And then night fell.

She had survived the day, by some miracle.

* * *

**A/N: So, what did you think? This is my first PJO one-shot, though I've been familiar with the books since 2005. Please R&R, no flames please. I'll do more depending on the response to this story- so if you want to see more, please review or PM me telling me so. :D**

**See ya'll later!**

**-Gwyn**


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